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Stevie Wonder’s classic first dance song
Dance
December 16, 2019

Stevie Wonder’s classic first dance song

Stevie Wonder released his best-selling album, “Songs in the Key of Life,” in 1976. He jammed 21 songs into the album which explored a wide variety of musical genres. One track from the album, “As,” is a popular wedding song. In fact, The Knot lists it #2  on their list of classic first dance songs. Sheer exuberance describes these lovely lyrics: As around the sun the earth know she's revolving And the rose buds know to bloom in early May Just as hate know love's the cure You can rest your mind assure That I'll be loving you always. “As”…
BigDaddy
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balanced wedding budget
Budget
December 9, 2019

How a lopsided wedding budget can spoil your celebration

How would you like to attend a wedding where the bride wears a $33,931 wedding gown? But there are no flowers. No ceremony music. No wedding reception. No dancing. No food. No cake. No photography. No invitations. No honeymoon. Nothing, because she blew her entire wedding budget on the gown? What a bore. According to The Knot, the average 2018 wedding couple nationally spent $33,931 on their wedding. (According to Value Penguin, the average Cincinnati wedding couple spends $20,311.) One key to a successful wedding is a balanced wedding budget. In reality, an average bride spends a little less than…
BigDaddy
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romantic first dance song
Dance
December 2, 2019

The most romantic first dance song

The Knot lists John Legend’s “All of Me” as the most romantic first dance song around, perfect for your first wedding dance song. “All of me” became Legend’s first #1 hit when it was released on 2013. He dedicated the song to his wife, television personality and Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, Chrissie Teigen. More people have listened to the song on YouTube than live in the entire United States. We’re talking 360 million! Take a listen as Legend accompanies the song with a lone piano: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R21EU8SKUM0 The lyrics drip with romance: 'Cause all of me Loves all of you Love…
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banquet hall
Wedding venue
November 25, 2019

Banquet halls decline in popularity when it comes to wedding venues

The Knot surveys wedding trends each year. Their 2018 survey found that  couples are getting increasingly creative in searching for cool wedding venues, at the expense of banquet halls. As recently as 2009, banquet halls represented 29% of all venues according to surveyed couples. But by 2017, the number dropped to fifteen percent, which is still the most popular wedding venue. However, more rural wedding venues are on the rise, as you can see in the most recent survey results below: Banquet Hall: 17% Farm/Barn/Ranch: 15% Historical Building/Home: 14% Hotel/Resort: 12% Country Club: 10% Conference/Event Center: 9% Backyard/Private Garden: 8%…
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Cole Porter for Millennials
Dance
November 18, 2019

Cole Porter for Millennials

Cole Porter transformed music in America by writing smart, witty, and totally catchy songs for theater and popular culture. And yet he is even less known among millennials than George Gershwin, who we wrote about last week. Millennials should get to know this giant, because he wrote love songs still requested at weddings today. Unlike George Gershwin, who relied on his brother for song lyrics, Cole Porter wrote both the music and the words. Born in Peru, Indiana, his small-town midwest upbringing was an unassuming start in life for a man who created such sophisticated music, often embellished with daring…
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Gershwin for Millennials
Dance
November 11, 2019

Gershwin for Millennials

George Gershwin is one of the greatest American songwriters ever. His songs are still played at Cincinnati weddings to this day, and yet 3 out of 10 millennials have never heard of him. Gershwin lived and died in the early part of the 20th century. Songs have changed dramatically since that golden era. The Spanish National Research Council did a pretty amazing study on the subject. They analyzed 464,411 song recordings from 1955 to 2010. A trend leapt out. Songs became less complex, using fewer chords. The timbral diversity became blander and more homogenized as contemporary songs used a smaller…
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one minute wedding toast
Toasting
November 4, 2019

How to give a one minute wedding toast (and why you should!)

How many bad wedding toasts have you heard at a Cincinnati wedding? Too many! Long toasts get boring fast, and frankly, most toasts ARE too long. It’s simply hard for an average Joe to pull off a scintillating toast that dazzles your guests. So what do you do? Keep it short by making a one minute wedding toast. The best toasts have a natural, ad-libbed feel to them, and that’s much easier if you can keep it short. But, as Mark Twain said, “It usually takes three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.” So, if you’re willing to take…
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language of love
Ceremony
October 28, 2019

The language of love

What kind of person are you? You have a unique opportunity to express the essence of who you are during your wedding vows. These few minutes define the rest of your life. Consider them carefully. For inspiration, let’s soak in some beautiful expressions of the language of love found in literature. Shakespeare William Shakespeare expresses the depth of love succinctly in this passage from “Romeo & Juliet:” “My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep; the more I give to thee, The more I have, for both are infinite.” The Velveteen Rabbit Do you remember that…
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movie soundtrack songs for wedding ceremonies
Ceremony
October 21, 2019

The best movie soundtrack songs for wedding ceremonies evoke strong emotions

The cinema is a treasure trove of great music for soon-to-be married couples. Last week, we considered some of the most romantic music written by the legendary Italian composer, Ennio Morricone. This week, let’s broaden our scope and consider the best movie soundtrack songs for wedding ceremonies written by other great film composers. "The Feather Theme" Alan Silvestri wrote a simply exquisite piece called “The Feather Theme” for "Forest Gump," starring Tom Hanks. (You can download a free copy of the sheet music for your piano player at MuseScore.com.) Mr. Silvestri has scored the music for a number of films…
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movie wedding songs
Ceremony
October 14, 2019

Movie wedding songs make great wedding ceremony music

Movie soundtracks are the new classical music. Some of the most innovative movie composers around are masters of the symphonic idiom. Some great movie wedding songs have emerged from the movie genre that you might want to consider for your Cincinnati wedding ceremony. Let’s focus on a single master of the form, the great Italian composer, Ennio Morricone. Mr. Morricone is a gifted composer of romantic melodies, a talent common among Italy’s finest composers. Gabriel's Oboe I recently attended a wedding where the bride made her entrance to a beautiful piece of music he composed in 1986 for the movie,…
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